SCOTTY CONTINUES SUPER DOMINANCE
MOTORSPORT: Another race, another win for the series-dominating Scott McLaughlin.
The McLaughlin Mustang march continued as the Ford star romped to his 10th win of the Supercars season after sweeping the round at Winton Raceway yesterday.
After starting on pole, McLaughlin wasn’t threatened throughout the race as his teammate Fabian Coulthard came in second to give DJR Team Penske their sixth one-two finish for the season.
Only a late safety car – called 10 laps from the finish when Will Davison ran off the track – denied McLaughlin a runaway win after the field was condensed. Seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup claimed third for the Red Bull Holden Racing Team as he continued to fight to revive his season.
McLaughlin already has more race wins this season than he did for the entire year in 2018 (nine) en route to his maiden Supercars title – and there are still nine rounds to go.
The defending champion extended his championship lead over Coulthard from 232 points to 244, while Whincup moved up from sixth to fifth in the standings.
“It has been an amazing weekend, two wins for our team, a pole and a one-two,” McLaughlin said. “The cars were just ridiculously good and (I am) excited for the future and the rest of the year.
“We had a little kerfuffle yesterday and we got our butts kicked and we came back here today.”
McLaughlin’s victory came after a dramafilled win on Saturday when he tangled with Coulthard on lap one and raised eyebrows with an off-track short-cut that was deemed legal by officials.
Coulthard, who finished 15th on Saturday, said he needed to lift if he is to catch McLaughlin.
“He’s fast... I just have to lift my game,” Coulthard said.
Whincup’s teammate Shane van Gisbergen remains the best-placed Holden driver in third place after he finished seventh.
– Rebecca Williams